Trends in the magnitude and direction of gender differences in learning outcomes

Using data of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ), gender differences in reading and mathematics in 15 SACMEQ school systems have been analysed. Results revealed that at the Grade 6 level, reading achievement was mostly in favour of girls while the mathematics achievement was mostly in favour of boys in 2007. While gender equality in Grade 6 participation has improved in many SACMEQ school systems, the size and the direction of gender differences in learning achievement have been very stable from 2000 to 2007, no matter who (boys or girls) performed better. Separate analyses by school location and socioeconomic status (SES) show that in rural schools and among lower SES groups across SACMEQ school systems, gender differences in both reading and mathematics have become slightly larger in 2007 than in 2000. There was a slight improvement in gender equality in achievement in reading and mathematics in urban schools, and a reasonable improvement in higher SES groups. These findings have led to the hypothesis that previous gender-related interventions have neglected the important quality aspect that may influence learning achievement, especially in rural schools and among lower socio-economic groups.